House Committee Holds Hearing On Space Aliens

And a day later on December 4, 2013, the House Committee chaired by Rep. Lamar Smith, R-San Antonio. on Science, Space and Technology conducted a hearing to examine "what methods are being used to determine if any of [the] planets may harbor life.

The hearing was titled Astrobiology: Search for Biosignatures in our Solar System and Beyond. Nasa has published astrobiology "roadmaps" concerned with three key questions, according to a hearing charter:

• How does life begin in the universe? • Does life exist elsewhere in the universe? • What is the future of life on Earth and beyond?

In the past decade, NASA has published two Astrobiology Roadmaps, approximately five years

apart. The last roadmap was published in 2008, and the next roadmap is expected to be published in 2014.The purpose of the roadmap is to outline definitions, goals, accomplishments and public outreach and education objectives in the field of astrobiology.

"This is the first time in human history we have the technological reach to cross the threshold," said Dr Sara Seager, an MIT professor and 2013 MacArthur "genius grant" recipient. Her work focuses on the detection of "biosignature" gases on distant planets, large volumes of which might indicate life, whether intelligent life or single-cell bacteria.

Seager testified that the James Webb space telescope, scheduled for launch in 2018, and other advances are changing the search for alien life forms. "If life really is everywhere, we actually have a shot at it," she said.

"The chance is very high" of life elsewhere in the universe, Seager said. "The question is: is there life near here, in our neighborhood of stars? We think the chances are good."

All three witnesses (Dr. Voytek, Dr Sara Seager and Dr. Dick) said they believe that there is "life out there."

After about 90 minutes of testimony, committee chair Lamar Smith of Texas gaveled the hearing to an inconclusive close.

It
was not, however, a fruitless outing. In impassioned testimony,
witnesses from Nasa, MIT and the Library of Congress described a
crossroads in the search for life out there and suggested scientists may
be on the verge of a breakthrough.